


Mutiny, I Promise You

by ILookDaftWithOneShoe



Series: Challengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avatar - The Last Airbender AU, Firebender!Loki, M/M, Odin's A+ Parenting, Oh Dummy, blacksmith!Tony, the giiiiiiirrrls from Ba Sing Seeeeeeeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2017-12-31 14:06:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILookDaftWithOneShoe/pseuds/ILookDaftWithOneShoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started in Tony's courtyard, when Loki didn't get burned by the misfiring forge. Then they pulled together an unlikely friendship - a prince of the Earth Kingdom and an injured blacksmith with a curious past.</p><p>Avatar: Legend of Aang AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Here is where you got lost

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly can't remember how and why I had this idea. But it's an Avatar AU! Go nuts.  
> My choices for character may seem questionable, but Loki physically resembles either Air Nomads or Fire Nation, and which of the two he leans towards in personality depends on your characterisation. However, Fire Nation have the stigma, so I made it that. Tony fits the physical build and some aspects of the personality of the Earth Kingdom.  
> From a continuity point of view, this takes place years before A:LoA.
> 
> Other than that, enjoy.
> 
> Named after 'Mutiny, I Promise You' by The New Pornographers.

They first met in the forge.

Tony met a lot of people in his line of work. Everyone wanted some kind of metalwork, when it came down to it, and Tony was happy to supply, as long as he was paid.

The best customers, of course, inevitably came from the royal family. They wanted the high quality stuff, the luxury items, the expensive pieces of handiwork that Tony enjoyed making and enjoyed being paid for even more. They were easy to pick out, too; the royal family were quite possibly the only people in all of Ba Sing Se and maybe in the whole kingdom with blonde hair.

Barring the younger prince, Loki, who was entering Tony's forge as he pondered the hair abnormality. He had the dark hair of an Earth Kingdom native, but his skin was paler than pale.

All Tony really knew was that royal family were weird. And that he had to kiss ass right now, because Prince Loki was known for having a fiery temper and he wanted to get paid, not beaten.

"Morning, Prince Loki," Tony said, nodding his head respectively and trying not to giggle. Seriousness didn't suit him. "What do you need today?"

"I - what is this?" Loki said, looking down in incredulous distaste.

"Sorry," Tony said, moving around the table he used as a counter to scoop up what was offending Loki. "'S Jarvis. My turtle-fox."

Jarvis licked at Loki's hand apologetically. Loki casually wiped the affected area on his pants. "You are Anthony, yes?" The prince said.

"That's me," Tony said, making his way behind the counter and dropping Jarvis into his basket. "Again, what do you need today, my prince?"

"I'd like to commission a set of ornate throwing knives," Loki said, pulling a chinking pouch of coins from his belt and dropping it on Tony's bench. "When I reach duelling age I'd rather not be caught out."

Loki, in his late teens, was nearly old enough to take his adult place in the royal palace. Tony was only a little older, but he'd been working for a lot longer, primarily because his parents had died young and Tony was just so damn good with anything metal that people looked the other way regarding his age.

"Not a bender, huh?" Tony said idly. "Dummy, come and write this down!"

Dummy was Tony's assistant. More accurately, he was a poor boy who turned up at Tony's forge for a few hours a day hoping for coin, and Tony got him to record anything of particular note in exchange for enough money to live on for a couple of days. Dummy couldn't write, but pictures served as enough of a memo for Tony that it worked out well enough.

Tony didn't actually know Dummy's real name. He was just Dummy because he was so fucking clumsy.

True to form, Dummy accidentally smacked his shoulder on the doorframe on his way in, then stood on Jarvis's fluffy ginger tail after losing his balance. Jarvis hissed and scuttled away.

"Dummy, make a memo. Throwing knives for the prince," Tony told him.

"Yes, sir," Dummy said.

Loki looked annoyed. "You're not getting to them now?"

"No, we're getting a drink," Tony said, gesturing out of the shop. Loki obeyed reluctantly. "You didn't answer my question. Not a bender? I thought you princes all were."

The irritated look intensified as Loki said "Not me."

"Nature's funny like that. Where's your favourite inn?"

"I don't have one."

"You're no fun," Tony sighed. "I like the Metal Man. Used to belong to my grandfather."

As Tony tried to steer Loki down the cobbled street, Loki glared at him. "Is this really necessary?"

"If you want good knives it is," Tony insisted. "Come on. You're rich. I can't make something perfect for you without knowing you first and you've got enough gold coins to get the best. And besides, you can't tell your daddy on me; I made him his eyepatch."

Loki took a moment to tug on his dark hair in frustration - it really should've been in a topknot, but evidently Loki was in a rebellious mood - before nodding.

"Good," Tony said, smacking Loki on the butt in a fit of impulsiveness to get him moving, then setting off down the street.

Loki glared at him, but followed.

They made it to the Metal Man and Tony ordered two mugs of beer. When they were filled from a cask and slid over the wooden bar, Tony and the barkeep both looked at Loki expectantly.

Loki slid two silver coins over the bar to the barkeep. Who cared if it wasn't the correct price? It had to have been close enough.

"Drink up, princess," Tony grinned, picking up his drink and taking a long pull.

"Don't call me that," Loki said, looking doubtfully at the beer.

"Right," Tony said. "Let's talk business. How much experience have you got with throwing knives?"

In answer to that question, Loki picked up one of the wooden darts lying in a little bowl on the counter and tossed it across the room with only a glance, the metal tip of the dart sinking into the cork disc. It hit the centre, which had been clumsily daubed red.

"Answer enough?" Loki said, a smirk making his way onto his face as he felt proud of a skill he had. His brothers couldn't throw anything in a straight line if it wasn't dirt.

"Not bad. You lost a bit of power by popping your elbow, though," Tony said. "Okay, it's clear you know what you're doing. What weights do you normally throw with?"

Loki hadn't known there were classifications of weight. He explained that to Tony, who told him to drop by the forge the next day to try weights.

"Shape? You like a padded hilt or a seamless one? Wide blade or narrow? Long or short? Give me something to work with, princess," Tony said exasperatedly.

Loki took a long, luxurious sip just to annoy Tony, and actually smiled when Tony gave a frustrated huff.

"At least you're smiling now," Tony said. "I was starting to think you had a porcupine-bear quill up your ass."

"And I was starting to think I'd have to put one up your nose to stop you from talking," Loki answered lightly.

"That's the spirit," Tony cackled, finishing his beer and gesturing for another one. "I hope you brought a big purse, princess, because I've been known to drink people out of house and home."

"Do you always drink at work like this?" Loki said judgementally. He should be leaving, attending some official duties or humouring his brothers, but he was surprised to find himself liking the opportunity to hide in a bar with an alcoholic blacksmith.

"Well," Tony said. "Despite the fact there's a war going on outside these walls, business is at an all time low. No one's buying weapons; it's like we're not even fighting. So I drink at work when I have time, and I have time."

"You could do the unthinkable, and work on the knives I just commissioned," Loki reminded him.

"I am. I'm learning about the guy who's going to throw them. And the only other thing I'm making someone is a new silverware set and I hate making forks."

Loki snorted at that, at the thought of this bold man throwing away a delicate silver fork in anger after he screwed up the tines for the millionth time.

Tony finished his second drink, made Loki finish his first, then actually focused on designing the knives for quite some time - albeit still with more alcohol - dragging more specifics out of Loki than the young prince knew he had, until Tony borrowed a piece of chalk from the barkeep and sketched out one of the knives on the bar, and Loki told him they were _perfect._

He wasn't lying, either; Tony had even detailed some of his plans for fine etchings on the blade in the shape of Loki's sigil. They were better than Loki had envisioned them, and his reservations about Tony's skill had vanished. That was probably also the three beers he'd had that he was starting to think were a little stronger than normal, judging by the fact he was smiling toothily as Tony recounted a tale about Jarvis getting in the way of a tryst with a florist.

When Tony reached the punchline, which involved the turtle-fox chewing the seat out of the girl's tunic, Loki starting actually cackling with laughter for the first time in months. He nearly fell off his chair with a hiccup, which led Tony to sober up a bit.

"C'mon, princess, you'd better get back to the palace," Tony said. "I can't deliver a member of the royal family home in a coma from Jin's special brew."

The barkeep - Jin - grinned at that. Or at the bronze coins that Loki flicked across the bar at him as he got to his feet, it was hard to tell.

After Loki stumbled on a cobble as they walked down the road, Tony wrapped a muscular arm around his back.

"You're not so good at holding your drink, are you?" Tony said.

Loki pulled away irritably. "I'm fine. The road is merely bumpy."

"Suit yourself, princess," Tony shrugged. "I'm coming with you anyway. You get mugged, it'll probably end up being my fault."

"I won't get mugged," Loki answered. "Again, you could do the unthinkable, and start working on my knives."

"You look rich," Tony pointed out, and Loki did; his clothes were clean and well-made, never mind the sigil on the buckle of the belt that cinched Loki's tunic in.

Loki sighed and just started walking, Tony trailing along behind him.

-O.O-

The next morning, Tony was just finishing the serrations on a set of silver knives when Loki walked in.

"Princess!" Tony said. "If you'll just step behind the counter..."

Loki didn't say a word, just slinked after Tony as they headed into the actual forging area, a partially covered courtyard filled with tools, equipment and high-quality metal. A trough of water sat in the middle, and a forge dominated the majority of one wall, orange light spilling from behind the closed door.

A streak of flame shot from a vent around head level.

"Watch out for that," Tony said. "I keep the forge a little more built up than it should be; it always does that."

"Noted," Loki said.

Tony went to a wooden drawer and scooped out a number of weights. "Here, hold these. Tell me which one feels most comfortable."

While Loki took the weights, Tony pulled up a piece of paper he'd been drawing his plans for the tracery on Loki's blades. The knives were supposed to be duelling weapons; practical, yes, but also expensive-looking and elegant.

Loki plopped a weight in front of Tony. "This, I think."

Tony picked it up and tossed it from hand to hand. "Yeah, I thought you'd pick something like this. Two things: one, are you happy with these designs, and two, I thought we successfully got that spike out of your ass yesterday. Lighten up, princess."

"The pain in my head is courtesy of that swill you gave me yesterday," Loki answered sharply.

"Nah, that's not swill," Tony snorted. "I dined at the royal palace once, after my father died. What they were serving there _was_ swill."

"I hardly think the king would take such an insult so lightly," Loki said, but a smirk was pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"It'll be our little secret," Tony winked. "These designs what you were looking for?"

"Yes," Loki said, his finger neatly tracing one swirling line. "You have skilled hands."

"You should see what else I can do with them," Tony grinned. "Excellent. I'll start work soon, _your majesty."_

Loki was surprised that he was putting up with the sarcasm. It just seemed to be bright, lighthearted aspect of the smith's personality.

That said, he hadn't missed the darkening of Tony's face when he mentioned his deceased father. No, this man was not one dimensional.

Loki thanked him and left; he had a meeting with the war council later.

-O.O-

They didn't speak again until Tony had finished the knives.

Loki was sitting quietly by himself in the palace gardens, scanning through a book of Earthbending forms. He mightn't be gifted with the art himself, but knowing the techniques of those he might duel against in the future couldn't go amiss.

"Loki?" His mother called from a doorway.

Loki stood up immediately. "Yes, what is it?"

"A courier delivered a message for you, dear," Frigga said, holding up a furled scroll. Loki strode across the gardens, his long legs allowing him to move quickly.

Once he'd thanked his mother and taken the scroll, Loki read the words written on it in a neat, economical scrawl.

His knives were completed.

Immediately, Loki retrieved a coat and pair of boots and made his way into the city. He was most definitely eager to see the finished product.

When he arrived at the forge, Tony was sitting with Dummy out in the forging courtyard, teaching the scrawny kid how to polish the metal to a bright gleam.

"Anthony," Loki called from the counter.

"Princess! You're here!" Tony said, getting up and making his way out. The smith was filthy and reeking of sweat, but the bright excitement on his face was infectious and Loki found himself smiling back again. "Your knives turned out to be some of the best work I've done."

"Would you tell me if they weren't?" Loki asked teasingly.

"Probably not," Tony admitted, steering Loki out to the courtyard and picking up one of the polished knives.

Loki took it from him and inspected it. The knife was a bright silver, the sides sharp enough to cut air, the delicate tracery on the flat subtle and elegant.

"Dummy set up a target for you," Tony said, gesturing at a wooden board on a stand opposite the flaming forge.

There was actual pride in Tony's eyes as he watched Loki throw the knife halfway across the small courtyard and into the board.

"I make the best of the best," Tony crowed as Loki retrieved the blade appreciatively. "Try it again."

Loki did, this time from further back. He sank the blade into the wood right next to the first hole.

Tony handed him another blade, and Loki took another step backwards and lodged it into the target again.

Loki was grinning now, a surge of delight at being good at something physical, and Tony was happy to see him so. As Loki accepted another knife, he took a step back and Tony shouted in alarm. "Loki, don't touch the-"

A blast of heat against Loki's neck made him whirl around and throw his hands up. Instead of the jet of fire scorching his face, it flared out into fireball, far larger than expected.

Shocked, Loki inspected his hands, his head supplying images of the horrific burns he'd seen warriors come home from the war with. They were as smooth and pale as ever.

He was still staring in disbelief at his hands when Tony grabbed his wrists and examined his hands.

"Oh, thank the spirits. The king'd probably have my head if you got damaged in my forge," Tony breathed. "Neat trick with the fireball. How'd you do it?"

Loki pulled away, trying to take his knives and go as his heart pounded in his ears.

"Not a chance," Tony said, snagging the prince by his belt. "Dummy, take your coins and scram. We're done today."

The boy nodded and left the building at a quick walk, his wide brown eyes staring at Loki with fear.

Everyone was afraid of fire those days, and even more afraid of anyone who could get away from it without being burned. And perhaps rightly so.

-O.O-

Tony pulled Loki upstairs into his home and sat his ass down. Loki was scared, because he couldn't read Tony's face and the smith could attack him for what he'd seen him do.

"Dummy won't say a word," Tony assured him. "Now take a few deep breaths before you leave; you look like you just saw a ghost."

Loki turned a knife over and over in his hands, pondering what he'd just seen.

"I'm not entirely sure what I just saw," Tony said. "But that should've burned your pretty nose off, and all I know is that you moved that fire. Any explanation, princess?"

"I - I don't-" Loki said, his brain still not caught up.

Tony took his hands; Loki was surprised that he wanted to come anywhere near him. "Princess, I don't actually know you, but you're funny when you're drunk, which makes it pretty much my obligation to help you. Calm down."

Loki was starting to realise that Tony wasn't stupid by any means; he put up a decent facade of humour and muscles, but underneath that, there was a surprising shrewdness to him. He was less like Thor, Loki's eldest brother, than he had first noticed. And maybe, just maybe, Loki could trust him. He couldn't exactly push Tony out of the loop now anyway.

"I didn't do that intentionally," Loki said.

"And I believe you, but hey, you still did it," Tony said. "Frankly, I'd love to have a firebender around the place-"

"I'm not Fire Nation," Loki hissed.

"Yeah, but you might have some in the family tree. I've heard of it skipping a few generations; maybe your mother's great-grandfather was Fire Nation," Tony said.

"That seems a _tad_ unlikely," Loki frowned.

"You got a better theory?" Tony asked with a slight grin.

"Not yet," Loki admitted. "I'm not convinced I actually did anything. Perhaps the air currents from me moving my hands-"

"Damn straight. Always stay in denial," Tony snorted. "Look, that wasn't air currents. Personally, I've known asshole earthbenders and a few very nice firebenders, so I'm not pointing the finger. That doesn't mean other people won't. Don't bend so much as a cinder outside of this building, you get me?"

Loki wanted to clean his ears out, just to check he'd heard Tony correctly; not only did he not want him dead, but he was offering him a place to train.

"I don't think I actually moved the fire," Loki said, still grabbing onto straws.

"Yeah, well, maybe you didn't," Tony conceded. "But it sure looked like you did. Come visit if you want to practice, princess. Otherwise, I guess you can take your knives and go."

And with that, he let Loki's hands go, stepped back and gestured to the door.

Without saying a word, Loki slipped his knives into a pouch on his belt and left, his head cloudy.

_You bent that flame, and you know it._

-O.O-

It took a couple of days of lying around in denial for Loki to take any action. He'd gone over that short space of a few seconds in front of the forge a million times, and he hadn't been able to turn up any conclusion other than that he'd made it happen. Unless Tony was a firebender, which didn't seem likely judging by the fact he looked as Earth Kingdom as any other resident of Ba Sing Se, or unless Dummy was a firebender, which seemed even less likely, because it didn't seem like the kid could even count.

No. It was him, with his pale skin and black hair.

Loki ruminated on that a while; if he was a firebender, then it would be a disadvantage to him to not practice. Regardless of who he was and where he came from - he really hoped Tony's Fire-Nation-in-the-ancestry theory was right - he needed to use it.

And with that, he went down to the library and picked up a book on general bending forms, before returning to his room and flipping forward to the firebending section, his finger tracing down the symbols.

Oh, he'd show his brothers who was the better bender. They never paid attention in their lessons; Loki knew more about earthbending forms than they did.

-O.O-

After he'd read the entire section and memorised all the first movements - it only took him a day; never let it be said that Loki wasn't the cleverest prince - he slept on it, sharp movements and twirls dancing through his dreams.

Then he got up early in the morning, stole a piece of fruit on his way out of the palace and headed down to the smith's.

The smith's wasn't open yet. Feeling a tickle of mischief among the nervous tension, Loki picked the lock and slipped into the shop, heading upstairs. When he navigated his way into Tony's simple bedroom to find the smith drooling onto his pillow, Jarvis curled up on his bed.

Loki leaned down right in front of Tony's face, then barked "Anthony!"

"Yah!" Tony yelped, sitting up suddenly. "Loki!?"

Jarvis woke up and scrambled off the bed, his shell hitting the ground with a  _thunk._

"Good morning," Loki said impishly.

"How'd you get in here?" Tony said breathlessly. "I forgot to lock the door, didn't I? Damn it!"

"I picked the lock," Loki said, but he was distracted by Tony's state of undress; nothing sexual, just the large, twisted scar in the middle of his chest. "What's-"

Tony quickly covered himself with a blanket. "Why're you here?"

"I wanted to take you up on your offer."

Tony looked at him in confusion for a few minutes, before apparently remembering the so-called offer. "Oh. Yep. Just let me get dressed."

Loki filed out of the room and wandered down into the courtyard, where none of the tools had been tidied. The only main difference was that the forge wasn't running. The high walls of the courtyard protected it from neighbours seeing in.

There was a little alcove that Loki hadn't noticed before. A suit of Earth Kingdom army uniform was hanging in there. He inspected it more closely and realised there was a huge scorch mark across the chest. Before he could look closer, Tony called him over.

"So, what're you here for?" Tony asked.

Loki took a deep breath. "I'm a firebender."

"No shit," Tony grinned. "I thought so."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't lynch me," Loki said.

"Wasn't planning to," Tony said. "Show me what you've got, princess."

And with that, he took a seat on a bench.

Loki hadn't been expecting anything that happened in the last week, from making sort-of friends with the blacksmith to finding out he might be a firebender. And now Tony wanted to watch him try and shoot fire out his fingers? Loki had rather been hoping he'd be left alone.

He hadn't intentionally made any flame before, and it didn't seem likely he could now. The book had said that firebending came from passion and willpower, but Loki couldn't think of anything that stirred him to passionate emotion.

Well, there was annoyance at his father and brothers, but annoyance probably didn't cut it.

That left him with willpower, which Loki did have a lot of.

"I've learned the basic set of forms," Loki said.

Tony just cocked his head expectantly.

Trying to push away his self-consciousness, Loki first ran through the movements.

_Step, chop, jab, step, kick-_

Loki was gymnastic, if not hugely muscular like his siblings, and apart from a slight stumble, he moved with ease.

He cast his eyes sideways at Tony. The smith seemed fairly interested.

"Mm, you're flexible," Tony said with a flirtatious grin. "Can you do anything else with those legs?"

Not expecting it, Loki blushed slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Noted. Spark up, princess," Tony said with a chopping gesture.

Loki relaxed and looked at Tony suspiciously. "Why are you so enthusiastic? You should be alerting me to the city guards."

"Two reasons. One, I'm a blacksmith, princess. I'm elbow-deep in fire every day, and I'm not gonna lie; I love the stuff. Seeing someone who can control it makes my day," Tony admitted. "Two, I used to have Fire Nation friends, and I won't hold a grudge against anyone unless they're actively being an asshole."

"Used to?" Loki asked. "What happened?"

"There's a war on; what do you think?" Tony said grimly. "No time for sad memories; spark up, princess."

Loki bit his lip. He didn't know if he could do it, and he still wasn't convinced he was even a firebender.

He went through the first movement again, lashing out and willing with every fibre of his body for flame to appear somehow. He really did have no idea how it worked.

Nothing happened.

He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure and not be embarrassed.

_Step, step, turn, jab-_

He visualised flame coming from his hand.

A teensy spark appeared, then died instantly.

Tony cracked up laughing at the shock on Loki's face.

_I am a firebender. A terrible one, but a firebender nonetheless._


	2. What's the weight of the world worth?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Tony get to know each other a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who finished their exams yesterday and wrote all this in 24 hours? This person!

Loki practiced all morning, trying to make a flame again. He managed it twice more, but by the time the sun was over him in the sky, he was too tired. It wasn't normal physical exhaustion; it was something bone-deep and aching that Tony told him was his personal energy drained.

"You know what restores personal energy?" Tony grinned.

"Let me guess," Loki said dryly. "Some form of alcohol."

"You're a seer," Tony laughed, slapping Loki on the back. He was rather strong, and Loki stumbled forward a bit. "But seriously. Come have a drink with me."

Loki was actually starting to enjoy Tony's company, to his surprise, and there was nothing waiting for him back at the palace.  
"If I must," he said haughtily.

"Lighten up," Tony said warmly. "You did good."

Awkward as it would have been to admit it, Loki didn't really get complimented like that, and his cheeks flushed slightly.

"You're _adorable,"_ Tony said, leading the way out of the courtyard. Jarvis nipped at his ankle as he made for the door. "Oh, fine. You can come."

To Loki's surprise, Jarvis managed an impressive leap into Tony's arms. That shell had to have been lighter than it looked.

"Is that allowed?" Loki asked as they made their way down to the Metal Man.

"I know everyone in the area. They know Jarvis is clean," Tony said fondly.

True to his word, no one looked twice at Tony carrying his turtle-fox.

"Your special brew, Jin," Tony said with a welcoming nod.

Jin grinned at Loki, who stared him down. "You alright there, Mr Prince?"

"More than," Loki said, maintaining a decidedly calm composure as Jin mocked his previous weak constitution. There was a knife in his pocket and fire in his hands.

Tony put Jarvis down on the bar. The turtle-fox waddled along and starting nosing through a dish of dried fruit. Again, nobody could've cared less.

"So. Tell me about life in the palace," Tony said after Jin had given them their drinks and wandered.

"It's dull," Loki admitted, sipping the drink cautiously. It tasted rather like the feeling of being kicked in the face. "I'm a long way from the line of succession; I'm unneeded for any planning or meetings and my older brothers insist on existing."

"I hate it when people do that," Tony said with a theatrical sigh. "Jarv, don't eat all the raisins. They give you a sore stomach."

To Loki's surprise, the turtle-fox spat out its mouthful of raisins.

"So what _do_ you do all day?" Tony asked. Clearly, he was genuinely interested.

"I read," Loki answered. "I spar. I argue with my siblings. I attend war councils."

"Why do you go to councils if you don't have to?"

"I have to be useful," Loki shrugged. "Only one of my brothers regularly attends, and he does it to gain favour from my father. I'm the only useful prince there, and they know it." The last sentence was said with a clear note of pride.

"Yeah, I've met Thor, and you've definitely got more going on in the brains department. How many other brothers do you have?"

"Three," Loki said. "Baldr, Vidar and Hodr. They're all boorish and overly masculine. They don't actually need to throw rocks at each other and me all the time to reaffirm their manliness."

"You sure?" Tony teased. "Nothing spells manly like rocks in the face."

Loki made an irritated noise and sipped his drink.

"You'd make a better king than Thor," Tony said idly, sculling his drink and petting Jarvis's tail. "Smart and determined. You know your shit."

It was said in an offhand way, but oh, Loki had never had so many compliments in one day.

"I'd ask what you do all day, but I'm pretty sure I know," Loki said. "You swear at silverware."

"That I do," Tony cackled. "Drink up, pretty boy. You're paying."

"Isn't that incentive to drink slower?"

"Don't get smart with me. Respect your elders," Tony tutted.

"Oh, please. You're not much older than me, and I'm a _prince."_

"I'm a blacksmith. Widely respected," Tony said. "I make the shiny stuff. People love shiny stuff."

"You can't be that widely respected if I don't respect you," Loki teased.

"Nah, you respect me. I'm like a brother - well, not like a brother. Like...I don't know. Someone you respect," Tony said.

"A friend," Loki said.

"That's the one," Tony said wryly. "Nice to meet you, friend Loki. See, you've been demoted from prince already; it didn't take much."

"Being a prince doesn't exactly mean much," Loki said bitterly. "Access to the Ba Sing Se library and the general expectation of politeness."

"At least you got the first, but the second's out the window," Tony grinned, nudging Loki in the ribs.

Loki smiled at him before finishing his drink. "Get Jin to fetch another mug."

"Why, Loki, you're growing up fast," Tony said, waving at Jin and ordering another.

"You'd be surprised," Loki said, wondering if he could still eat the dried fruit. Jarvis had licked most of it.

They sat in a companionable silence for a bit, sipping their drinks and watching Jarvis clean his paws.

After several minutes, Tony leaned over to Loki. "Of the three women behind us, two of them have muttered something about you being a prince and having a nice butt. I think they smell opportunity, and so should you."

"Hm," Loki said. "Not allowed."

"What?" Tony said confusedly.

"The princes aren't allowed _dalliances_ until marriage," Loki said, making a face.

"That's terrible. You should be able to abuse your privilege and fuck the whole city," Tony sighed. "Come on. You could slip away for a few hours in the sheets. No one's keeping an eye on you."

"You're awfully interested in where and when I sheet-roll," Loki remarked dryly.

"I'm more interested in a lack of it," Tony said, mock-horrified. "You poor, frustrated boy."

"I refuse to discuss that with a dirty old man," Loki replied coyly.

"Just before you said that I'm not much older than you. And I'm not dirty; I bathe daily, which is a step up on half of the city. The man bit, I can't honestly deny," Tony said.

Loki snorted at that. "I can."

"Oh, now you're playing dirty," Tony said with a theatrical sigh.

"And we've come full circle to the girls behind me. I'm not interested."

"To each their own," Tony shrugged, draining his second drink and requesting another.

-O.O-

Like last time, they parted ways when Loki was getting tipsy. Loki said he'd return when he could, for more practice. Tony honestly said he looked forward to it.

In the following two days, Loki was expected around the palace as part of the background for the major city mayors' visit. Mostly he just read about firebending forms in public spaces.

Some of the children that had accompanied the mayors were proving to be very annoying, and so when Frigga asked Loki if he wanted to be excused for a few hours, Loki hugged her tightly and was out of the palace before anyone had asked any questions.

He'd started to figure out a few shortcuts to Tony's shop, and was there very quickly. When he walked in the door, he could see Tony and Dummy in the courtyard leaning over a bench.

Loki knocked lightly on the counter. Tony's head shot up and he smiled.

Dummy's reaction, however, was a wide-eyed fear.

"Dummy, you're excused," Tony said idly.

As he left, Dummy kept his distance from Loki.

That terror had to do with the fire. At Dummy's level of society - the lowest - all they really knew about the war was that the Fire Nation was the enemy. Nothing more than that, so someone with a command of fire was worth fearing.

"Don't mind him. I'll kick his ass if he says anything," Tony said by way of greeting.

"Hello to you too," Loki said.

-O.O-

Loki practiced all afternoon while Tony worked.

He was starting to get to know the feeling - it wasn't like pushing something out of his body, it was like breathing emotion, if that made sense. When he managed to do it, there was a flare of something like joy, but more neutral - _passion_ \- and the flame appeared with his breath. The book hadn't said anything about breath.

Despite the fact he'd just about figured out how to make fire consistently, he couldn't make much more than sparks. He was missing something, but he didn't know what.

It was frustrating, and by the evening, Loki was demoralised. Even more so when he remembered what he was heading home to.

"Will anyone care if you stay out?" Tony asked when he noticed how limp Loki seemed.

Loki wiped a little bit of sweat off his forehead and sat down. "Unlikely, but if they do, I can expect horrible punishment."

Tony put down his file and sat down next to Loki. "Why? Who cares if one prince out of five isn't around?"

"You don't quite understand," Loki said. "I'm the clever one. The king would have me around to make him look good. The others, barring Thor, can do what they want."

"That sucks. A lot of things suck about your life," Tony said bluntly.

"Well, I'm grateful you're not breaking it to me gently," Loki said dryly.

"I'm not going to treat you like you're gonna break," Tony shrugged. "You're not stupid. You'd better get going, I guess."

"Yes, I probably should," Loki said, getting to his feet. His eyes caught the Earth Kingdom army uniform in the alcove. "One question. Why aren't you with the army anymore?"

Loki visibly saw Tony's face shut down. Suddenly the mirth was gone. "I'll tell you when you're not in a hurry."

Read: never.

-O.O-

After the banquet that night, Loki retreated to his room to continue with the bending book until there was a knock at the door. He quickly flipped the page to a random one about airbending and said "Come in."

It was Frigga, to Loki's undying relief. Quite possibly the only tolerable person in the palace.

"Did you enjoy your afternoon?" She asked.

Now Loki was suspicious. "Yes, it was a pleasant change," he said neutrally.

"I ask only because I'm wondering if you've made a friend," Frigga said, sitting next to him on his bed.

"I have," Loki admitted. This was Frigga. She kept the right secrets at the right times. "Tony, the blacksmith."

He wasn't sure if he was going to get a warning that the king wouldn't like it, or reassurance. Fortunately, it was the latter. "I'm glad to hear it," Frigga said. "I know Tony and he's a very clever man."

"Why did he leave the army?" Loki asked.

Frigga pursed her lips. "I'm not entirely sure. He and his father were involved in the Bridge Betrayal, I know that; that's where his father died. But I don't know why he left. I would have thought something like that would give him motivation, not take it away."

The Bridge Betrayal. Loki had heard of it, but he wasn't clear on the details.

"I'm glad you've got someone outside of the palace, anyway, Loki. I know it hasn't been fun for you around here recently," Frigga said.

Loki realised, right then, that he hated everyone in the palace apart from her. His idiot brothers, his distant father, the snide librarian and the mocking guards...he wouldn't be sad to see any of them go. Meeting Tony and befriending him had thrown his relationships with others into sharp relief.

"Thank you," Loki said distractedly, giving her the obligatory hug before she kissed him on the temple and left, wishing him a good night.

-O.O-

The next morning, Loki was expected around the palace again, so he went to the library, rummaged up some records about the Bridge Betrayal, and began to read in the gardens where the wives and children were.

The Bridge Betrayal was a hostage exchange gone wrong that had taken place in the West of the Earth Kingdom. The hostages from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation had been walking across a large, open bridge with no issues when the bridge had exploded, killing all the hostages. The report said that it had been Fire Nation mines that had destroyed the bridge. Loki wasn't sure what to think.

Tony wasn't on the list of the hostages, nor was his father Howard. His father was on the list of the slain, which confused Loki to no end. If he hadn't been a hostage, why had he been killed?

The record also told him that Howard had been given a memorial banquet at the palace in Ba Sing Se for his blacksmithing and for bravery in combat.

Loki was unashamedly puzzled and wanted to do more research, but he wasn't allowed to leave, so he made sure he was off to the side and practiced making just a spark or two fly from his fingers.

 _Firebending._ It was amazing and beautiful; Loki couldn't deny that, which was why he was bitter that he had to hide it. Firebending did not a villain make. Loki wasn't even Fire Nation.

"Brother?" A deep voice said.

Loki raised his head suddenly, startled. The sparks had vanished with his concentration. "Yes, Thor, what is it?"

Thor smiled. There was a girl standing next to him. "This is Li," he said, gesturing to her. "She is the daughter of the mayor of one of the cities to the west. She wanted to meet you."

"Well, Li," Loki said dryly. "You've now had the honour."

Li, a shy-looking girl in her late teens, looked a little put-off by Loki's tone. "Hello," she said.

Thor nodded at Loki and left, Li taking the opportunity to sit next to Loki.

"What are you reading?" Li asked.

"War records," Loki replied shortly. "I'm looking into the Bridge Betrayal."

"The Bridge Betrayal?" Li said. "I remember that. The army brought the injured to my city for rest."

Loki was suddenly paying attention to her. "Do you recall a blacksmith with them?"

"There was a blacksmith's son," Li said. "He was very badly injured. Most people thought he wouldn't survive."

"Do you remember anything more?" Loki asked eagerly.

Li shook her head. "Sorry."

"Never mind," Loki said. "Why did you want to meet me?"

"Oh - I just heard you were very interested in the library," Li said. "I want to work there one day."

That actually made Loki smile. "Good for you," he said. "Don't let your father marry you off to a boor."

Li smiled shyly. "Not a chance."

"Loki!" Frigga called from a doorway.

"My apologies," Loki said, his manners on automatic as he seized the opportunity to escape. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Li, she was just...not Tony, and that was who he wanted to see.

"Loki, your father and his companions are touring the city soon," Frigga told him when he reached her. "You can visit Tony, if you like."

Loki nodded in thanks before dropping the record in his room and heading into town.

-O.O-

Loki had already decided to not bring up the Bridge Betrayal to Tony; it would probably just upset him, because Loki had gone behind his back to look it up. Likely Tony would tell him when he was ready, whenever that was.

Instead, he wanted to practice.

Tony greeted him distractedly as he arrived, the smith's focus completely on the large soup ladle he was shaping.

He was a real craftsman, Tony; even plain and rough, the ladle was elegant and well-made.

"This is the last piece of the set," Tony muttered distractedly, gently tapping the handle into a smooth curve. "Princess, could you lend a hand?"

"What do you want me to do?" Loki asked curiously.

"Can you heat the lower bit of the handle, here? I don't want to put it back in the forge because I might risk losing what I've already done," Tony told him.

"I can try," Loki said uncertainly. Trying to shoot sparks into the air was one thing, but focusing them was another.

"I'm wearing leathers, you can't burn me," Tony said reassuringly.

Loki took a deep breath, then let it out and gathered flame in the tips of his fingers. Sparks appeared, glancing off the handle of the ladle, before he managed to summon a small amount of actual flame. That was all he managed before it petered out.

Loki cursed. "I can't do it."

"You can," Tony said, leaning a little closer to Loki. He smelt like ash and sweat. "You nearly had it. Come on."

Taking another deep breath, Loki tried again. He lasted for longer, and the handle heated to where Tony wanted it, but he couldn't sustain the flame and it wisped away quickly.

As Tony thanked him and starting flexing the handle again, Loki sat down heavily.

He could make the spark, but he couldn't make it a true fireball. Loki didn't know what he was missing, but he just couldn't do it.

Tony finished shaping the ladle handle then sat down next to Loki. "You'll figure it out," he said.

The praise and reassurance, usually so welcome, just ticked Loki off. "Yes. I will," he hissed, getting to his feet and running through the sets again. He usually picked things up so quickly. Being stuck making sparks was paining him.

-O.O-

When they finished up that evening, Loki was tired but he'd managed to make some actual thin jets of fire, and he felt that was an accomplishment.

Loki hadn't been told he had to come home, so he took up Tony's offer of dinner.

Tony, as it turned out, was no culinary king. They walked down the road to a place selling stew and bought two bowlfuls.

 _This is good_ , Loki thought to himself. It wasn't just the food, it was the fact that he was eating with one person instead of a hundred, and he didn't hate that one person.

"You're smart," Tony said idly, sipping from his bowl. "What d'you know about how bending and stuff is handed down?"

"Nothing much," Loki said honestly, adding it to his mental list of things he needed to study. "I'm Earth Kingdom, I know that much. Fire Nation people have amber eyes."

"True," Tony said. "Maybe you're just unique. One in a million."

"I don't feel it," Loki said wryly.

"Well. There are thousands of people in Ba Sing Se, and you're the smartest I know," Tony said. "Why couldn't you be some kind of ancestral sneeze?"

"It's not unheard of for traits to skip generations," Loki said, building on the theory. It was a lot better than the alternatives.

"You look more normal than the rest of your family," Tony chuckled.

That was true. Thor, Frigga, Odin and Vidar all had blonde hair and blue eyes. Loki couldn't think of a time when he'd ever seen anyone else with that colouration.

"It hardly matters," Loki shrugged. "I'm a prince of the Earth Kingdom who happens to be a firebender. That's how the Norns wanted it, so that's who I am."

"Damn straight," Tony said. "You wanna stay here tonight?"

"I can not and would not," Loki said. "I'll be needed tomorrow morning."

-O.O-

They established a pattern over the next week or so; Loki made himself known at the palace in the morning so no one would notice him gone in the afternoon. He'd join Tony in the forge, practice his firebending, occasionally help Tony smithing - he was making a set of duelling swords and was quite cheery about it - and then they'd get a drink or dinner when they were both tired.

Frigga was certainly happy to see her son with a smile again. Loki's brothers just wanted to know if his disappearances into town meant he had a girlfriend. Thor warned Loki to watch out for muggings.

Loki's firebending hadn't improved much - he was still struggling to do more than make thin jets of fire - but the movements themselves were becoming easier and he was fitter than he'd probably ever been.

Meanwhile, Tony and Loki's initial tense banter had dissolved into an easy friendship. For the first time, Loki was talking freely about what he wanted to do in life ("Fuck the royalty. I'll become a prostitute if it annoys Thor enough," Loki had said, making Tony choke on his beer with laughter) and his opinions, both of which he usually kept to himself. In return, Tony was revealing his cynicism, his vague love of anarchy, his insanely ambitious engineering projects that rivalled the engines and machines of the Fire Nation. Loki was more than eager to help wih the latter, the two of them working on defying physics as they knew it.

Loki had never had a friend like Tony, and he was starting to think Tony hadn't either.

-O.O-

One night, Loki hadn't bothered to go home and had just slept on Tony's couch. Frigga would cover for him.

He was woken by shouts and screams ringing through the streets, as well as a very familiar horn ringing out.

 _Fire!_ Loki thought, panicked and not entirely certain what to do.

The few wooden buildings in the area did tend to burn easily. Tony's house was stone, having a forge, but nearby houses were not.

Tony came dashing down the stairs, yanking a shirt on. He headed into the courtyard and snatched his leathers, tugging them on to protect himself. "Fire brigade, princess! They're gonna need your sparky fingers!"

Loki didn't know how he could help, seeing as he could only make fire and not much of it, but he pulled his boots and coat on and followed Tony out the door, Jarvis barking and following them.

Down the street, a blaze had started in a three-story tenement block. People were trying to get out while others passed buckets of water from taps and wells.

Loki didn't have any protective clothes, so he dashed back to the forge and picked up a couple of buckets, filling them with water and heading back to introduce them into the bucket brigade.

Tony, in his leathers, took the lead of the brigade and helped get the remaining people out of the building then took over the front of the buckets.

Fire was destructive, Loki decided. It was hugely dangerous when unchecked, like in this case. But Tony had proved that fire could be used to create infinite beauty.

A hour or so later, the fire had died down, and it hadn't spread to the other buildings.

Everyone was cheering at Tony for how he'd stepped in, and Tony was standing just outside the door, grinning and bowing.

A loud _crack_ alerted them that something was wrong.

Everyone's eyes looked upwards as a beam fell from the roof towards Tony. In an instant, Loki had screamed _"Tony!"_ and lashed out with a hand, flame flying from the tips of his fingers.

It was more fire than Loki had ever produced, starting as a jet of fire and turning into a fireball to rival the one the forge spat out. The fire started a dull red but Loki's determination to save Tony flared it to a bold orange, searing the beam into light bits of charcoal that hit Tony on the shoulder, broke apart on the leather and fell to the ground harmlessly.

Tony didn't notice. His jaw had dropped. He collected himself and blurted out a _"Holy shit."_

He might have been impressed, but the crowd of people certainly wasn't. They looked terrified, and once the shock wore off, they started shouting for the guards.

Two city guards had been helping with the water and they snapped into action, feet sliding into a earthbending forms.

Loki couldn't and didn't want to fight. He turned on his heel and ran.

His foot sank through stone as the guards pulled him down. As he struggled, his other foot sank too. "Leave me be!" Loki screamed.

He registered Tony shouting at the guards, even as he fell and his hands sank too.

The guards caught up to him, bent him from the ground and bound his hands behind his back with a chain of rocks. One of them took his throwing knives off him while the other growled "Don't struggle, Fire Nation brat."

A rock pelted Loki in the leg. One of the crowd had thrown it at him.

"Leave him alone!" Tony shouted at the person who'd thrown it.

"I'm your prince," Loki snarled at the guards as they pushed him forwards.

"Tell it to the king," one of them laughed.

 _Shit,_ Loki thought. _They're going to take me to him._


	3. Here's the mutiny I promised you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki faces his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, perhaps: very subtle mention of rape.

Loki was thrown unceremoniously into a cell when he reached the palace. A quick tap of the walls told him that while the room was lined with wood, a precaution against earthbenders, the walls behind that were solid rock, and there were no windows. He couldn't burn his way out, and if he tried he'd set himself on fire.

The dark began to drive him stir crazy within half a minute, and he conjured a few sparks to light the cell up, passing them cautiously from hand to hand.

He didn't know what was going to happen. In theory, he hadn't done anything wrong - there were no official laws against firebending in Ba Sing Se and Loki had saved someone, not hurt them. But theory didn't always pan out, and a prince of the Earth Kingdom being a firebender in the delicate situation that was the current political climate would likely be inexcusable.

His only hope was that the king would show mercy, or that someone else with enough power would speak out, like Frigga. With his experience of the courts, Loki wasn't optimistic. The king had never even seemed to register that Loki existed anyway.

With little else to do but ponder his fate, Loki practiced his breathing exercises. Every book he'd read had said that the breath was the heart of firebending, and controlling that breath was what allowed a bender to control flame.

As evenly as possible, he breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. Settling into the lotus position, Loki prepared himself for a meditation session. Panicking and crying would do no good when there was no one around to convince with it.

It felt like a long time later when there was a knock at the steel cell door. Loki opened his eyes, cursing the darkness.

The locks unclicked, and Frigga walked in, bathed by a halo of light.

"Mother, what's happening?" Loki asked uncertainly. She would forgive him the lack of pleasantries.

Frigga stooped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in her familiar scent and draping dress. "Loki, my son. I am so sorry."

"Are you sorry because I'm in this cell or are you sorry because I'm a firebender?" Loki murmured into her shoulder.

"I'm not sorry you're a firebender," she told him, releasing him from the hug and putting her hands on his shoulders. "I assumed you would be. I am simply sorry that you found out in such a harsh way."

"I've known for a few weeks," Loki admitted. "Why would you assume I was a firebender?"

"You discovered it at Tony's forge?" Frigga asked.

"Don't avoid the question," Loki growled, pulling back from her.

"I always knew I'd have to tell you one day," Frigga said. "Loki, you are not my son by birth."

Loki had halfway suspected it, yeah, but the confirmation made his throat close.

_Be strong. It's the only way you're getting out of this._

"The king's not my father," Loki said unquestioningly. It made sense.

Oh, Loki knew the king's real name, Odin; he'd heard Frigga say it many times before and his brother occasionally before being cuffed around the ear. But to speak it would mean disrespect, and that wasn't what he needed right then.

"No," Frigga stated simply. "Could you light up the cell? I can barely see you."

Loki was apprehensive, but after a few breaths he conjured a few sparks to dance around his hand.

They both looked at the sparks for a few moments, before Loki said "Who are my parents?"

"I don't know who your father really is," Frigga said. "Your mother was from the western Earth Kingdom; her town was attacked by the Fire Nation. They occupied the city, but the king's forces fended them off some time later. You were about to be cast out by your mother, but due to her claims about your fatherhood a message was sent to Odin, and he agreed to foster you."

Chills went down Loki's spine. If the king had wanted him, then it was as a bargaining chip, and no doubt his father was someone important in the Fire Nation army. He really didn't want to be related to anyone like that.

He wondered what his mother was like. Trying to envision her just led to the mental image of Frigga in peasant's clothes.

"Who..." Loki took a deep breath to settle himself. In through the nose, out through the mouth. "Who did she say my father is?"

"The commander of the Fire Nation forces," Frigga said, and it was clear she was avoiding the question again. "Registers were checked, and the commander of that part of the army was the fire prince. We cannot know if her claims were true, it must be said."

The chills died down, settling into a clinical numbness. Loki ran the numbers in his head and concluded "He's the Fire Lord now."

"Yes," Frigga replied.

"I'm here as a bartering chip," Loki said lowly. "The Fire Lord's bastard."

"That may have been the case-"

Loki chuckled hollowly. _"May?"_

"It may have been the case before you arrived. Now you are nothing less than my beloved son."

"What about Odin's son?" Loki said dryly, a bitter smile coming to his face. "Can I claim that position?"

"Of course you can."

"We'll find out when he drags me in front of the court for trial, won't we?" Loki replied.

"He has a reputation to uphold and that includes no tolerance for firebenders," Frigga said sadly.

"To do anything less than punish me harshly might make people question his loyalties," Loki continued acidly. "I didn't do anything wrong. I saved Tony."

"I know," Frigga said, hugging Loki again. "But there's nothing I can do now."

Loki disagreed. There was a lot she could do, like stand on Odin's balls until he let him go. A more accurate description would be _there's nothing I can do without potentially annoying Odin now._

"Thank you," Loki managed to say anyway. "Hopefully I'll be seeing you later."

She squeezed him tighter before leaving. He returned to his meditation, puzzling over everything he'd just learned.

 _Adopted._ He could deal with that; foster children weren't unusual and he'd always been the odd one out in the household. It was the situation of his parentage that was upsetting him.

_The enemy. If what my mother said was true, that monster's blood is in my veins._

Which explained where Loki's bending had come from, and every other non-Earth Kingdom aspect of his personality. He didn't even look Earth Kingdom, except for the bright green of his eyes that had to have come from his mother.

Loki wondered what Tony would think.

Probably he'd chuckle first, then explain to Loki how it could possibly be a good thing and how it didn't define him. Tony...Tony always spoke like he'd been in Loki's shoes.

If Loki could get away, he was running to Tony.

-O.O-

Loki sat there a long time. He didn't know how long.

Only the high profile cases came before the king; it was a big city and if every misdemeanour was judged by one man, then nothing would get done. Loki qualified as high profile.

He didn't expect to be there for more than half a day or so; they would have given him better facilities. He was in a holding cell.

The advantage was that he was now well-rested and calm. His plan was to stay as calm as he could. Icily so, if he could manage it. Thinking clearly was the only was to win.

As his joints were getting stiff, Loki got to his feet and went through his forms without making flame. No need to exhaust himself.

The dark was starting to drive him stir-crazy again, and he'd just conjured a few sparks when the door audibly unlocked.

He didn't bother to banish the flame. The secret was out.

Loki had been expecting a guard, but instead it was Thor occupying most of the doorframe.

"Brother?" Thor said, his eyes immediately drawn to the sparks.

"Now you see me," Loki said, quashing down his emotions to fix a dry smile to his face. "I'm not your brother."

"Whether or not we are of blood has nothing to do with brotherhood," Thor replied. "We were raised together, and that's enough."

"What a load of sentimental drivel," Loki said cuttingly. "Why are you here?"

"I volunteered to collect you," Thor said. "Turn your back and offer your wrists."

Loki couldn't fight Thor in such a confined space, so reluctantly, he conceded. He felt rock coil around his wrists and bind them tight together.

"I'm sorry for this," Thor said quietly. "Father is being unfair."

Unfortunately for Thor, Loki was in no mood at all for brotherly bonding. "How unlike you to speak against him. Perhaps you've finally grown a spine."

"Loki," Thor said heavily. "I do not know what awaits you in the court. But I know without being told that a smart mouth and a sharp tongue will get you nowhere."

"I don't care," Loki said harshly. His voice almost cracked as he repeated "I don't care anymore."

The last few weeks had been stressful, to say the least.

Thor guided Loki out of the cell and gave him to the two palace guards, laying a hand heavily on Loki's shoulder before leaving without another word. The guards bound Loki's ankles together with a short length of stone, too.

Loki supposed that Thor was a little in shock too. He'd always been the quiet, clever son.

The guards were staying professionally silent as they lead Loki towards the court. There was a brief wait in a side room before Loki was led before the throne.

-O.O-

Loki had decided that he was going to stand up for himself. No acceptance, no supplication. If he really was the bastard son of the Fire Lord, then he was going to act like it in front of this king.

He would not bow.

Instead, he walked as boldly as he could while shackled and met the king's one-eyed gaze with steel.

"His belongings," one of his guards said, dropping a small sack to the floor. Loki's knives chinked within.

From the corner of his eye, Loki registered that the court was fuller than he'd ever seen it. Loki, the firebender. Roll up, roll up!

He couldn't see Tony. Maybe he hadn't come.

"Odin," Loki said bluntly.

That immediately caused a little bit of shock. Using the king's name? Disrespecting his status.

"Loki," the king growled back.

"I'd like to begin by saying-" Loki began, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to finish the sentence.

"Silence!" Odin snapped. "I hope you understand the magnitude of your actions."

"I accidentally used a gift I have to save-"

Odin steamrollered over him. "By revealing yourself as a man of the Fire Nation, you have brought fear and flame into Ba Sing Se, and in doing so, have compromised our effort in winning the war."

Anger surged through Loki like fire in his veins. "No!" He protested indignantly. "I-"

"Silence, Loki, or you will be gagged," Odin said. "This will not be tolerated."

In a very extreme way, Loki could understand the king. Letting a firebender roam easily around the palace might start whispers that he was perhaps not so devoted to winning the war. But this was still not fair.

Loki held his tongue.

"These people are here to see justice served," Odin said with a gesture at the full court.

As Odin began a speech on solidarity in these dark times and the need for a strong leader to combat the fear - a load of horse shit if ever Loki had heard it - Loki took the opportunity to properly cast his eyes over the crowd, looking for Tony.

His brothers, barring Thor, were just beside the ornate green and gold throne. Frigga had been there earlier but evidently her tolerance had been reached and she had left.

A lot of the people looked at him with a mixture of fear and distaste. The palace librarian had only pity and resignation, and Li, gentle Li, was looking confused and concerned.

Thor himself was nearer the large entrance, his fists clenched protectively for his younger sibling.

The king finished his speech and was about to pass judgement when Baldr uncertainly stepped forward and said "Is he really a firebender, father?"

Odin had neatly gone most of the trial without actually addressing the issue of Loki's firebending and why he had it. "Yes, he is," Odin said. "There are many witnesses to prove it."

Sufficiently cowed, Baldr shut his mouth and moved back with Vidar and Hodr.

"Did he hurt anyone?" Thor asked loudly.

Loki had to hide his tiny smirk. Doubt had been sown.

"He ignited a tenement block; the blaze nearly killed the residents, if not for the intervention of the blacksmith, Tony," the king said calmly.

"I _didn't!"_ Loki shouted, until one of the guards kicked him in the back of the knee and he cried out in pain.

Loki gritted his teeth, forcing himself to be calm. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

There was no way this trial was going in his favour. The king had clearly decided that the cons of keeping Loki outweighed the pros, and he was getting rid of him one way or another. After all, the Fire Lord did have two legitimate children, and Loki was no longer of use. With that, Loki began to think of escape.

His shackles, though made of rock, could be broken with sufficient force if the guards were occupied. Most of the people in the room were non-benders and unarmed. Loki's knives were just over a metre away from him.

And he was really starting to doubt that any of his brothers, prodigious earthbenders themselves, would fight him.

There were no windows, just softly glowing lanterns, but there were secret doors, and Loki knew every one from his childhood explorations.

He could do this. It was just the first move.

For the first time, Loki addressed the anger burning through him. It was emotion. Passion. He could use it.

His hands and feet were bound, but his body and head were not.

As Odin spoke, Loki readied himself, allowing his anger to burn white-hot.

"As your punishment, Loki, you are stripped of the titles befitting your position in the Earth Kingdom," the king said. "You are also to be banished from the city of Ba Sing Se, following a year long imprisonment for contemplation."

In other words, he'd let the proverbial heat die off, then kick Loki out. It was a relatively mild sentence. Loki was still angry.

"Do you accept this?" Odin said, finally allowing Loki his words.

"I have only one thing to say," Loki said, an involuntary smirk crawling onto his lips. "You should never have let the son of a dragon go ungagged."

The coin dropped for the king, who shouted in alarm, but the guards didn't get it.

It didn't matter. In a moment, Loki's anger bubbled over, and he whirled loosed a blast of flame with his breath into the face of one of his guards, who collapsed screaming.

Loki collapsed intentionally onto his back, cracking his wrist shackles, then kicked up, shattering his ankle shackles across the other guard's stomach, knocking him down. Freed, Loki kept that guard down with a kick to the head.

There was silence in the room for just a moment; the king hadn't decided what to do.

Loki eyed up the crowd. They needed to leave.

Concentrating, he swirled his hands in a few motions to gather energy and then jabbed to either side of himself, sending out a jet of fire that narrowly missed the people assembled. There were a few shouts and screams.

"You should leave," Loki said loudly. They did.

Actually, Loki was going to leave too. He just wasn't sure how difficult it would be, so he picked up his knives, slipped a pair into his sleeves and readied himself to fight.

The confusion of the crowd moving obscured Loki from Odin's easy viewing, so he seized his opportunity to head towards his chosen secret door. Unfortunately, people parted like minnows before him, and Loki was thrown back by the stone floor tearing apart under him.

"No!" A voice shouted. It wasn't the king. It was Thor.

In a battle stance, Loki continued making his way towards the door, watching the action.

"You leave him be. He did no wrong!" Thor shouted.

Vidar and Hodr weren't agreeing, but they weren't disagreeing either. Baldr slipped behind Odin's one-eyed line of sight and mouthed _get out of here_! at Loki.

Surprised by the brotherly solidarity he'd been denied for a lot of his life, Loki stared for a moment more as Odin shouted Thor down, then dashed through the side door. More guards would be on their way, and when the Dai Li turned up, his chances of getting away became so much slimmer.

Loki ran.

-O.O-

He didn't bother to go back to his room. It was a predictable move. Instead he weaved his way through servants' corridors until he reached the kitchen, then shoved his way past the irritated cooks and leapt out a window. It was almost dark out.

It was a bit of a drop, but Loki hit the ground expertly, rolling to his feet uninjured. There was a shout of "Hey!" as a guard spotted him. Loki threw a knife and had no idea where it went, but the guard didn't follow him.

The gates hadn't yet been barred. Loki ran through them without looking back. The clatter of shoes told him that guards were after him.

The ground cracked and split under his feet, trying to suck him down. Loki's quick feet only just saved him.

He ducked past a hay cart into an alleyway, then turned and blasted it, the hay bursting into flames. There were back routes to Tony's forge that the guards mightn't think of checking.

After a few turns, he saw a pair of guards running down an alley towards him. They shifted into earthbending stances, so Loki attacked with a fiery kick before shoving boxes down the alley.

Loki didn't know how much longer he could keep it up. The firebending, while useful, was tiring him out quickly.

As Loki took a few more turns, feeling like he was losing his pursuers, one dropped from a rooftop in front of him, throwing him into a wall with a rock to his chest. A Dai Li agent.

His quick feet saved him from more stone, but Loki went hand to hand with his knives against the agent. Several strikes later, and Loki had the upper hand, stabbing the agent in the thigh then palm-thrusting him in the head. He'd been lucky. He probably wouldn't be able to fight another one.

He was nearly at Tony's forge, and after taking a few back routes, he reached the enormously high stone wall of the courtyard. The stones were sleek and he couldn't get any purchase on them as he tried to climb it.

Loki was starting to panic. He needed to get in, now.

Opposite the wall was the back of someone's house. Loki took a knife in each hand and used them to give him purchase as he climbed, then pushed off, leaping over the alley and clambering on top of the wall before dropping into the courtyard next to the forge.

The forge wasn't hot; it hadn't been lit that day, which was unusual.

Loki stumbled towards the doorway, the chance to relax turning his bones to rubber.

Tony appeared in the doorway. "Loki?" He said.

The ex-prince made it two more steps before he collapsed.

"Loki," Tony repeated, clear delight in his voice. He dove forward and picked Loki up, carrying him inside.

Loki registered the familiar smell of sweat and metal before he passed out.

-O.O-

It took Loki a long time to wake up, his head feeling murky and dark.

There was a cold cloth on his forehead. Realising he was desperate for a drink, he tried to retrieve it.

"Hey, princess," Tony said.

Loki opened his eyes. Tony was leaning over him with a smile. He passed him a cup, and Loki drank eagerly.

"What happened?" Loki mumbled.

"You turned up and fainted, I got you inside, then a couple of Dai Li agents breathed down my neck for a while. I told them you made a break for it over the opposite wall of the courtyard," Tony replied. "I think you overstretched yourself; you had a hell of a fever. How much did you firebend?"

"More than I expected," Loki said weakly, closing his eyes again. "I was angry. It helped."

"Your body's quite resistant to firebending; I don't know why," Tony said, his hand idly coming down to pet Loki's hair. "What happened with you? I didn't want to come to the palace in case I couldn't shut up."

"The king - Odin accused me of lighting the fire this morning, sentenced me to exile and imprisonment," Loki said. "I'm adopted."

"Yeah, I kind of figured," Tony admitted. "You okay?"

Loki thought about that for a minute. "I am."

"Good. I was worried about you," Tony said. "You know who your parents are?"

"Maybe," Loki wasn't certain how much to say. But it was Tony; Loki trusted him more than anyone, now. "The best theory is that it was the fire prince at the time."

There was a minute of silence, then Tony said "My father killed a bunch of innocent civilians and Fire Nation kids to motivate the army."

"The Bridge Betrayal," Loki said, finally understanding the missing links.

"That's the one. I was friends with the hostages, too. They were alright; turns out being Fire Nation doesn't make you a bad person. But my father and I were tasked with a special mission. We were attacked when we set off the mines. He was killed, I was injured by Fire Nation soldiers," Tony said heavily. "Just 'cause your father's awful, doesn't mean you can't be better than him."

"Thank you," Loki managed to say.

"If we haven't got each other, then who else, princess?" Tony said.

"I don't quite know anymore," Loki said honestly.

Tony leaned down and sort of half-hugged Loki. "Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Loki only registered that he was in Tony's bed when Tony left the room and Jarvis jumped up on him, licking his face before going to sleep.

-O.O-

By the time morning came, Loki was feeling much livelier, to the extent that he tickled Tony's foot to wake him up.

"Hey there, princess," Tony grinned after he'd stopped swatting at him. "You're looking perky this morning."

"I'm free. No more responsibility. I'm getting out of the city somehow," Loki said, before turning serious. "Come with me."

"What?"

"You don't enjoy living here; you said it yourself. Come with me," Loki said.

Tony thought about it for a moment, before grabbing Loki by the shoulders. "Give me a few hours and we'll go," he said eagerly.

Loki beamed at him, yanking him into a hug. It went on a little too long, and right then, Loki realised what the inevitable end game of their friendship was.

They pulled back and looked at each other for just a moment, then both leaned in at the same time. Their lips brushed, just lightly, before Loki smiled involuntarily and leaned his forehead against Tony's.

"This is mutiny," Loki murmured. "I like it."

"You'll like it more when we get on the move," Tony said. "You've never left the city, right? You'll love it out there."

They didn't know how they were going to get out of the city, but they knew that they would.

"Then let's go," Loki replied.

_And here's the mutiny I promised you_  
 _And here's the party it turned into_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's over! Thanks for reading; this series may be continued in the future.
> 
> (I also realised that if one really was going to force this into Avatar continuity, then Loki would be Iroh and Ozai's older brother. That's a very weird thought)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, folks?


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